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St Bridget’s, Candlemas, groundhog day
Regardless of what you call it, February 2nd is a holiday and coming up fast. This midway point between winter solstice and spring equinox is celebrated by many cultures. If you grew up in the United States you may know who Punxsutawney Phil is. Or maybe you are more familiar with Staten Island Chuck. The goddess Cailleach who has power over winter storms was said to think about wood needed to keep warm in the remaining days of winter on Imbolc. If more

It has finally decided to be winter here, the bridges and overpasses were icy on the 06:30am commute to work yesterday. Today the roads were dry but the temp was in the low 30’s. Tomorrow they are predicting snow. It is time to find the gloves and scarves and switch to a heavier coat. It is time to make sure the half feral barn cat has a warm place to hunker down and to be extra vigilant about filling the bird feeder. The barn cat is neutered, he doesn’t need to add to the homeless cat

In the last post you saw several photos of the broom corn from my garden, the above photo is one
you didn’t see. It is broom corn early in its growth. It is also a beautiful example of Fibonacci’s
golden spiral. Is this a pagan / Gaian topic? Maybe, maybe not. This golden spiral is repeated
throughout nature. It is found in the pattern on the bottom of a pinecone, in a seed filled sunflower,
in a snail’s shell and in the cochlea of our inner ear. It is seen in the horns of sheep, in the cloud

Terra and I have been busy getting ready for the last show of this calendar year. We have been
making besoms. These are ceremonial or decorative, they will never be used to sweep the floor.
This has sent my mind wandering in the direction of sweeping out the old/negative both
metaphorically and physically. It has also brought to mind tales and beliefs related to besoms.
In India besoms are associated with the goddess of wealth. Besoms are used by the followers of
Jainism to sweep away insects

Seeds, cones, pods
We are slowly putting the garden to bed. This along with thinking about preparations for Samhain has got me thinking about what else could be collected from Gaia’s bounty. The sidewalk leading to my weekly weight loss meeting is an obstacle course of acorns. Acorns can be gathered for grinding into acorn meal. Acorns are charms for wisdom, prosperity, luck, and good fortune. Black walnuts litter the ground between my home and my neighbors. Black walnuts can be gathered for

In Hot Water Again!
In hot water again. Yeah! Bet you thought I was talking about being in trouble. No l mean hot
water literally. At the beginning of summer our 14 month old hot water heater died. It hid in a
closet sharing a room with a never used shower and a toilet. Due to its location the manufacturer
refused to honor the warranty. The local plumber came and replaced a part. It ran five days. We
chose not to fix it again, but to do without while we saved to replace it. We have replaced

A train wakes me up at 3:30am daily. My daughter tells me one wakes her at 2:00. Sometimes l am awoken by the earlier train sometimes not. These are not freight trains but passenger trains. If you get on Amtrak’s website you can see a map of which routes are daylight and which are dark. All Kansas passenger trains run in the dark. Who decides this? Who has made the decision that passengers do not need to see Kansas scenery? I personally think Kansas is beautiful. I lived on the Oregon Coast

Autumn Rush
Remembering to stay on path during the rush of this busy season.
Autumn is a busy season at Gaia Native. The grandkids are heading back to school. School means changes in work routines for both Terra and me. The grapes and apples are about ready for harvest. The tomatoes are still producing. We are harvesting broom corn almost daily. We have labor day weekend, Pagan Pride, and Great Plains Fall Renaissance to get ready for in September. In addition we are having a garage sale and

I have been thinking a lot about connecting with Mom. No I don’t mean the Mom who gave birth to you
or the one who raised you, although I am blessed to connect with my 95 year old mom daily. My mom is
in the end stages of Alzheimer’s disease and with the help of my family I have been able to keep her
home. That is a subject for another day. This is about connecting with Mother Earth.
I am a voracious reader. I usually have more than one book in progress at a time. I have just
finished Last